Wife and I are doing a gravel race in early May. The course has been changed and now there is a lot more pavement (and gravel sections I may not see until raceday, but it looks like mostly FS roads. No singletrack or even doubletrack), so we want something fast-rolling, pavement friendly, that also can handle gravel and all of it's variables (including weather).
I've used the GK SS TLC (non-+) before. It's a great pavement tire. Very fast, but so-so on anything more than "groomed gravel". I've seen a lot of hubbub about Vittoria's new Terreno Dry CX tire being used for gravel. Supposed to be the "Holy Grail" tire. (How many times have we heard that?)
Curious if anyone here has ridden both and if so, impressions.
I don't want to get too far off-topic, but if there is another tire in this class I should consider, then by all means gimme your submission and justification.
Hadn't heard of this. Thanks. The mud performance does concern me though. This race is timed so that it is often run in a monsoon, so smooth'ish centered tires tend to be preferred for the pavement and the fact that they don't pack mud.
GT mentioned he'd like to see a 40-42c version, as would I, but what I really would want is a 650 x 47b. I think this tire might even be better than Ramblers, which as it turns out, were the tires I that taught me that roll-down tests don't work (he quotes doing a RD test in that article to determine efficiency).
In a recent test at VeloNews using a rough-surface drum, the Specialized Pathfinder Pro was one of the tires that had less rolling resistance than the GK SS or the Terreno Dry in 700x38. Don’t know if that tread would work for you.
I have run both tires in the past. They are both good tires and either would serve you well on the course you describe. I don't think either would be faster or slower on tarmac. Of the two, my preference is the Vittoria, as I like having the side knobs the Vittoria tire offers. In my usage, the Vittoria was also more durable, with fewer pinholes developing that the sealant had to take care of.
I absolutely hated the Terreno Dry tires. But then again, I hate all 'semi-slick' tires that are largely smooth except for side knobs. Conti Terra Speed would be my choice. Very fast, and surprisingly confidence inspiring off pave.
OneSpeedMark wrote:I hate all 'semi-slick' tires that are largely smooth except for side knobs
Interesting. Can you share what is that you dislike about them?? The issue I have with them is typically the lean-in on pavement. I did read a blurb by the Vittoria guy who designed this tire and he said they took a lot of steps to specifically address this and got great feedback from CX racers. They should have sent you a pair to review. 😆
First off I am not a CXer. For my NorCal gravel conditions, I dislike the lack of bite of semi-slicks. Very unfriendly to out of the saddle riding when there is anything loose over hard.
My last bike came with Terreno Dry 38mm tires on wheels with 24mm inner width. I don't know if this is important to you, but these tires actually measured at 42mm.
I had Terreno Dry 38mm last summer, I really liked them, they were useless in the wet or mud, but that’s expected given their name.
i ran them tubeless but I got a hole in one that the sealant wouldn’t fix so put a tube in to finish the tire off. The downside of them for me was longevity, I got about 1500km on them before what little tread they had was gone.
I had the Dry and they were pretty good all around. I'm running the GK SS+ now after using Terreno Zero last summer. Note that the Terreno tires say they are not rated for hookless rims. I didn't have trouble with the Dry but the bead on the Zero slid up off my hookless rim. I was running a bit higher pressure for mostly road riding around 45-50 psi.
bender16v wrote:I had the Dry and they were pretty good all around. I'm running the GK SS+ now
My rims are hooked. Good for some things, not best for others. What are your impressions comparing the Dry to the SS+? We run the GK Slick + as our "road tire" and my impression was the the SS (non-+) was not very supple in comparison. Blazing fast, but a little rough.
It's been a while since I used the Dry and I remember they were slower on pavement. I went to Byways after that then Bon Jon Pass then Zero and now SS+. I don't have many miles on the SS+ because of winter but they aren't as supple as others, but if they don't puncture I'm willing to put up with that.
I've been very happy with the Challenge Strada Bianca Pro. Fast, comfortable, and durable but I doubt suitable for mud. The new Getaway has some tread and should be better off road while retaining most of the good qualities of the Strada Bianca Pro.
Keep in mind the handmade Challenge tires are very expensive and difficult to mount (the first time, then they loosen up). And I think they're available only in 40-622.
I have never understood why someone would ride terrenos, dry or otherwise. They have never tested fast and ... go back and read how Taylor Phinney’s Kanza attempt worked.
I've ridding both the GK's and the Vittoria's, as well as the Pathfinder Pro's and the Challenge Strada Bianca's.
GK's are ok, but I find them to be a little firm with out much grip.
I like the Vittoria's more than GK's for general fun rides or training rides as long as it's dry. Specifically I think they're a more comfortable tire in a 38 and have better traction than GK's. And, on fun rides or training rides I'm not concerned with RR.
For racing on mixed surfaces (road, fire roads, gravel, etc) I have not found anything that beats the Pathfinder Pro. Excellent RR on pavement, very good puncture protection, nice side lugs for gripping in corners. Just an excellent all around mixed surface and racing tire.
I would run a Challenge over a GK slick because they roll much faster in my experience and as reported by bicycle rolling resistance dot com, however any slick gravel tire, in my experience, only works on well groomed gravel and pavement. I find they start to slip while climbing or in sharp corners. Of course some of that may be rider error 🙂.
For racing on mixed surfaces (road, fire roads, gravel, etc) I have not found anything that beats the Pathfinder Pro. Excellent RR on pavement, very good puncture protection, nice side lugs for gripping in corners. Just an excellent all around mixed surface and racing tire.
Interesting. What size did you run??? They are available in 38 and 42. Do they run large??? My 38 GK's are 40 on my 25iW and the Kenda Alluvium 40's are 43.
They are also kinda heavy, which I would think would affect them negatively when climbing? What was your experience with them there??
I run 42's on a hookless (25 IW) rim and they run just shy of 43.
My experience is that the extra weight is negligible on climbs. The combination of near best in class rolling resistance and the added grip in corners for me makes them the perfect race tire. Other tires roll as fast (and some a tad faster) but have no cornering grip, and other tires trying to achieve the same smooth center tread with side lugs just don't match the RR of the pathfinder, in my experience.
RR based on bicycle rolling resistance dot come at 30psi in a 42
Pathfinder Pro 24W GK SS 23W GK Slick 21W Challenge 19.5W
Moparspanky wrote:I run 42's on a hookless (25 IW) rim and they run just shy of 43.
My experience is that the extra weight is negligible on climbs. The combination of near best in class rolling resistance and the added grip in corners for me makes them the perfect race tire. Other tires roll as fast (and some a tad faster) but have no cornering grip, and other tires trying to achieve the same smooth center tread with side lugs just don't match the RR of the pathfinder, in my experience.
RR based on bicycle rolling resistance dot come at 30psi in a 42
Pathfinder Pro 24W GK SS 23W GK Slick 21W Challenge 19.5W
Moparspanky wrote:I run 42's on a hookless (25 IW) rim and they run just shy of 43.
My experience is that the extra weight is negligible on climbs. The combination of near best in class rolling resistance and the added grip in corners for me makes them the perfect race tire. Other tires roll as fast (and some a tad faster) but have no cornering grip, and other tires trying to achieve the same smooth center tread with side lugs just don't match the RR of the pathfinder, in my experience.
RR based on bicycle rolling resistance dot come at 30psi in a 42
Pathfinder Pro 24W GK SS 23W GK Slick 21W Challenge 19.5W
I'm not up on this stuff: are the wattage figures the amount of power that is sapped by each tire's RR? In other words, are lower numbers better?
